Sheboygan Meijer opening moved to 2019

SHEBOYGAN – The Meijer retail chain recently told city officials that its plan to open a store where Memorial Mall currently stands is at least two years away.

The Michigan-based supercenter chain is now looking to begin construction on its Sheboygan store in 2018 and to open a store here in 2019, which delays its original plan by about a year, said City Planning and Development Director Chad Pelishek.

The change doesn’t come as a big surprise. After purchasing Memorial Mall in 2015, Meijer said the investment was more long term and that redevelopment of the property wasn’t imminent.

Meijer has hired another company to manage the mall in the meantime.

Before the mall was sold to Meijer, it had gone into foreclosure and was then put in the hands of a court-appointed receiver. It still has a handful of stores but for years has struggled to attract and retain tenants.

Once the project moves forward, Pelishek said the adjoining Kohl’s and Bed, Bath and Beyond stores will remain but the rest of the mall building will be demolished, including Hobby Lobby.

Meijer officials couldn't be reached for comment.

The company currently has four Wisconsin stores and is looking to aggressively expand its footprint in the state in the coming years.

Earlier this year, Meijer announced plans to spend $400 million to build nine new stores in 2016, including two – Sussex and Waukesha – in Wisconsin. Locations planned for Brown, Outagamie and Manitowoc counties are also in the works for 2017 or beyond.

Meijer now operates 220 stores in six states – Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin – and employs more than 65,000 people.

Meijer stores are similar in scope to other general mega-retailers, including Target and Walmart supercenters, and typically measure about 200,000 square feet in size.